Trump ordered the Navy to destroy Iranian gunboats that harassed United States ships

Date: 2020-04-22
Entry type: threat-of-force
Current status: Explicit conditional threat or order; no resulting strike is claimed in this entry.
Last reviewed: 2026-09-03

Entities and roles

April 2020 Iranian gunboat threatconditional maritime-force direction
Donald J. Trumppresident issuing the direction

Claims and evidence

factreported
Trump said he instructed the Navy to shoot down and destroy Iranian gunboats if they harassed United States ships at sea.
- Reuters: Trump instructs U.S. Navy to destroy Iranian gunboats if they harass U.S. shipsOpening paragraphs and quoted presidential post